老鼠开会
Long ago, there was a big cat in the house. He caught many mice while they were stealing food.
从前，一所房子里面有一只大猫，他抓住了很多偷东西的老鼠。
One day the mice had a meeting to talk about the way to deal with their common enemy. Some said this, and some said that.
一天，老鼠在一起开会商量如何对付他们共同的敌人。会上大家各有各的主张，
At last a young mouse got up, and said that he had a good idea.
最后，一只小老鼠站出来说他有一个好主意。
"We could tie a bell around the neck of the cat. Then when he comes near, we can hear the sound of the bell, and run away."
“我们可以在猫的脖子上绑一个铃铛，那么如果他来到附近，我们听到铃声就可以马上逃跑。”
Everyone approved of this proposal, but an old wise mouse got up and said, "That is all very well, but who will tie the bell to the cat?" The mice looked at each other, but nobody spoke.
大家都赞同这个建议，这时一只聪明的老耗子站出来说：“这的确是个绝妙的主意，但是谁来给猫的脖子上绑铃铛呢?”老鼠们面面相觑，谁也没有说话。
生金蛋的鹅
One morning a countryman went to his goose‘s nest, and saw a yellow and glittering egg there.
一天早晨，一位农夫发现自家的鹅窝中有一只金灿灿的蛋。
He took the egg home. To his delight, he found that it was an egg of pure gold.
他将蛋带回家，惊喜地发现这是一个金蛋。
Every morning the same thing occurred, and he soon became rich by selling his eggs.
此后，农夫每天都能得到一个金蛋。从此，他靠卖他的金蛋变得富有起来。
The countryman became more and more greedy. He wanted to get all the gold at once, so he killed the goose, when he looked inside, he found nothing in its body.
农夫变得越来越贪婪，他想一下子得到鹅肚子中所有的金蛋。于是他杀死了鹅，但是，鹅肚子中什么也没有。
挤牛奶的姑娘
a milkmaid was going to the market. she carried her milk in a pail on her head.
一个农家挤奶姑娘头顶着一桶牛奶，前往集市。
as she went along she began calculating what she would buy after she had sold the milk.
走了一会儿，她开始算计起卖完牛奶后要买的东西：
"i‘ll buy a new dress, and when i go to the ball, all the young men will dance with me!"
“我要买一身新衣服，好去参加舞会，年轻的小伙子都会邀请我跳舞。”
as she spoke she tossed her head back. the pail immediately fell off her head, and all the milk was spilt.
想到这里，她真地摇起头来，牛奶桶随之倾倒在地，牛奶都流了出去。
the girl went back without anything. she felt very sad. "ah, my child," said her mother. "do not count your chickens before they are hatched."
女孩很伤心，两手空空地回到家里，母亲对她说：“我的孩子，不要过早地打如意算盘。”